Parents to face fines, jail for kids' behavior

New Bridgman law prompted by complaints about juveniles in park.

New Bridgman law prompted by complaints about juveniles in park.

November 24, 2005|KATE SHERIDAN Tribune Correspondent

BRIDGMAN -- "Teach your children well" is more than an old song lyric in the city of Bridgman now. The city's new parental supervision ordinance takes effect in December and provides for big fines and possible jail time for parents and adult supervisors who fail to properly control their children and teenagers. City officials have been grappling with the ordinance's details for several months, after hearing a spate of complaints from some longtime residents in one city neighborhood and at the Toth Street Park. Neighbors praised the police department's prompt response to their complaints of neighborhood teenagers smoking, drinking, truancy, late-night noise and traffic. The ordinance evolved in response to the neighbors' requests for the city to adopt a "get-tough" stance with the parents of children who one resident called "out of control." Some of the delinquent behavior involved graffiti and vandalism at the city's park, and residents also sought to find a way to force parents of the young violators to help pay for the costs of damage and disturbances. Without objection, the ordinance's final language was approved Monday night in a 6-0 vote of the City Commission. Commissioner Linda Gedeon-Kuhn was absent. By law, the ordinance will be published in a local newspaper and takes effect 20 days after publication, said City Superintendent Aaron Anthony. In the interim, residents may view the document at City Hall on Maple Street in downtown Bridgman. Parents and other responsible parties may be found to be "aiding and abetting delinquent acts" and subject to court action, jail time and fines up to $500 per occurrence if they fail to follow the ordinance's guidelines for exercising "reasonable control to prevent the minor from committing any delinquent act," according to the ordinance. The new ordinance broadly defines delinquency and youthful misbehavior as anything, other than a civil traffic violation, that violates state, federal or local laws, or violates civil juvenile statutes. That would include teenage smoking, drinking, drug use, vandalism, curfew violation, disturbing the peace and truancy, among other acts. Parents and inattentive adult baby sitters aren't the only responsible parties to be targeted in the new ordinance. Under the new code, a 17-year-old sibling can also be held responsible for the acts of a younger sibling, if the older child resides in the same home as the younger offender. In response to commissioners' requests for descriptions of specific offending acts and omissions, the ordinance now lists nine different "parental duties" that constitute "exercise of continuous reasonable control." Both residents and commissioners agreed during its development that the list was simply "common-sense parental responsibility," Anthony said. The delineated duties include keeping unauthorized drugs out of the home, properly controlling legal firearms forbidding unexcused school absences, forbidding minors to possess stolen property or alcoholic beverages, requiring children and teens to observe curfews and preventing vandalism. In addition, the list requires that parents or responsible parties arrange to have children and teenagers properly supervised by another responsible party at all times. Adults with minors in their care are also required to call in government or private agencies to help them if they are having trouble controlling their children, and they must cooperate with the government if any outside agency tries to step in and control the violator.